‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel Snags ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Writer

There’s been a lot of question surrounding the proposed sequel to X-Men: First Class, including what time period it will be set in (the ’70s? The ’80s?), which mutants will be featured (Cyclops and Jean Grey, anyone?) and of course, whether the cast of the first film and director Matthew Vaughn will all return for the next installment.

One question that has been seldom asked is who might be writing the script for the next chapter of First Class – but, that’s the question we have the answer for today.

SuperHeroHype has it that screenwriter Simon Kinberg is the man who has been hired by FOX to script the First Class sequel. Kinberg has a pretty wide range of experience with genre-based action films, having penned scripts for xXx: State of the Union, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand, Jumper, and of course, Sherlock Holmes. Kinberg also has some high-profile upcoming projects on the way, including the McG espionage rom-com This Means War, and the horror/period drama mashup, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. So basically, his screenwriting accomplishments range in quality from OK to poor – though, he does get points for producing Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9) next sci-fi film, Elysium.

Matthew Vaughn and his frequent collaborator Jane Goldman were involved in the scripts for both of their previous comic book adaptations (Kick-Ass and First Class), so the decision to have another writer work on this First Class sequel does raise eyebrows. Of course, there were other writers besides Goldman and Vaughn involved with scripting the first First Class film, so if Vaughn in fact returns to direct the next installment, there’s still a fairly good chance that he (and likely Goldman) will be putting their own stamp on story.

If not, suffice to say that it will be a fairly…interesting turn of events, should Kinberg be left to fly solo on this project. Because another X3 is just what we need…

We’ll let you know more about the X-Men: First Class sequel as news develops.